Where the Winds Take Him
by Fantasy'r'usdude
Summary: Norne Eric is a 14 year old Sergeant-Major in the Marines, dedicated to helping those that need it. He has faithfully, dutifully and unquestioningly served the Marines for months, but when he sees something that he finds truly despicable, his world views change and he makes a decision that will alter not only his life, but possibly the entire world.
1. The Young Marine

**The Young Marine**

Marine Troop 34 was sailing the West Blue, patrolling for pirates. As all of the Marines were hard at work, one boy scurried around the ship. With short brown hair and blue eyes, was one of the hardest working, doing everything he could, and always offering to give a hand. This boy is 14 year old Norne Eric, and despite his young appearance, he was currently a Sergeant-Major. He did his part, but some of the Marines showed jealousy in the fact that he was a Sergeant-Major at such a young age. He didn't let this influence if he helped them, though. After all the morning preparations were complete, he heard one of the other Marines tell him that Captain Fergus wanted to talk to him. Eric entered the Captain's office, and Fergus, a tall man with medium length black hair and brown eyes, told him to take a seat.

"You wanted to talk to me, sir?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about your service. You've proven to be very hardworking and faithful to the Marines. I remember the day you asked to join the Marines two months ago. Hah, you seemed very weak, but you more than proved that you were ready to serve."

Eric remembered that day. He still laughs when he thinks about the shocked expressions on the faces of the Marines that were there.

"You are a valuable asset in the pursuit of justice. Never forget that, and make sure to do your part," Fergus said.

"Thank you, sir. I will make you proud," Eric said as he bowed.

"That is all for no-,"

"Captain, there are pirates portside!" a Marine shouted, barging into the office.

"Well, lad, ready to show these pirates why you're a Sergeant-Major?" Fergus asked with a smile.

"You bet. Let's stop those pirates!" Eric shouted as he headed for the deck.

The pirates tried to shoot at the Marine ship, but their shots only hit the water. The Marine ship shot back, but they also missed. The Marine ship then approached the pirate ship, but did not make an effort to board. That was when Eric stepped onto the edge of the ship. Stepping casually from the side, he didn't fall, as many of the pirates were expecting him to. At the last possible moment, he launched himself upwards and into the sky. The pirates were evidently shocked to see someone so young jump so high. But they also noticed something else. The boy looked like he was going to try an axe-kick. They laughed, thinking there was no point to what the boy was doing. Suddenly, they could vaguely make out some sort of swirling energy around his leg. And then, he started his attack.

"Wind Axe!" the boy shouted as he quickly spun around in midair. From his leg, a blade of wind shot out, cleaving the ship in two.

Captain Fergus couldn't help laughing as he heard the pirates shouting stuff like "How the hell did he do that?" and "That's not even fair!" As the Marines gathered the pirates that were flailing in the water, Eric propelled himself slowly to the wrecked ship, helping gather some of the pirates. Afterwards, he groggily landed back on the ship. He then went to the back of the sail after he recovered, and used his powers to propel the ship towards the Marine base at top speed. When they arrived, the pirates were hauled off. It was revealed that the captain had a bounty of 1,000,000 berries. Captain Fergus offered the bounty to Eric, since it was him who defeated the pirates, but he insisted that someone who needed the money take it.

"You sure are incredible. Passing up a million berries. Ah, well, that's what makes you so dependable."

"Just doing what I can to keep people safe from pirates," Eric said.

"I gotta say, those Breeze-Breeze powers are incredible. You're a logia type, right?"

"Not really. I can only manipulate the wind. I can't become it."

"Huh. I was wondering about that, to be honest. So you're like the infamous Blackbeard that way, right?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Well, we'll be heading out to do more patrolling late-"

"Captain, we just got a report that the Mole Pirates are attacking the nearby island!"

"Dammit, we won't make it in time!" Fergus yelled.

"Not unless I use my powers," Eric said.

"Won't it wear you out?" Fergus asked.

"We don't have the luxury of worrying about that!" Eric yelled as he headed for the ship with the other marines.

"Brave kid," Fergus whispered as he headed for the ship.

Eric cranked up the wind as much as he could, almost going fast enough to send the other Marines flying. However, this also made him feel a little woozy himself. Within ten minutes, the ship had reached the Wyran island. They could see the pirate ship docked at the port. Some of the Marines stayed behind to secure the ship while the rest, including Eric and Fergus, went off to fight off the Mole Pirates. They were just about to head back to their ships when the Marines arrived, and they obviously weren't expecting them. They still put up a fight, but the Marines were able to handle the underlings. Eric and Fergus headed out to find the captain. They found him and his first mate, and both of them prepared to fight.

"They actually think that they have a chance? Hah. Can you handle the first mate?" Fergus asked.

"Definitely," Eric said as he prepared for the first mate to approach.

"I'll bury you!" the first mate shouted as he charged at Eric.

Eric dodged an attack from the Mole pirate's claws, then kicked him in the stomach, sending him back a bit. The pirate ran right back at him, but this time he tripped him. The pirate was pissed, and came charging, slashing his claws. Eric then prepared a kick. The pirate kept charging, thinking there was no way that Eric could survive the attack if he didn't move. He was quickly proven wrong.

"Gale Force Kick!"

As Eric shouted this, he kicked, unleashing a huge burst of wind which sent the pirate flying right into one of the nearby buildings. At this time, Fergus was battling the leader of the Mole Pirates. The Captain, Murphy, had the powers of the Mole-Mole Fruit, and had dug underground. Fergus was just standing there while Murphy was circling around him. The instant Murphy tried to rise up and grab him, Fergus jumped out of the way. Before Murphy had the chance to react, Fergus grabbed his face and slammed him into the ground. Murphy wasn't dead, but he'd definitely be feeling that later on.

Eric grabbed the first mate, while Fergus hauled Captain Murphy to the Marine ship. Eric offered to help with the repairs, but Fergus insisted that he stay with the troop. They would send people to help with repairs. Eric begrudgingly went back to the ship. This was the only thing he hated about being a Marine: when the pirates were caught, it was as if there wasn't any collateral damage and they could just leave, at the very least with this troop. He knew it wasn't like he wasn't helping, but he knew he could do more, and he really wanted to.

"Your desire to help is truly admirable, but we need to be out at sea in case we have more pirates to deal with," Fergus said.

"Understood, sir," Eric begrudgingly saluted.

The Marine troop set out, patrolling the seas for more pirates. However, Eric was sitting in his room. He always hated when they just left without helping out at all. He would always sulk in his room when this happened. Fergus learned that if he just let Eric cool off, he would be back to his diligent, hardworking and cheerful self. However, there wasn't the time for that. There was a nearby cruise liner that was being attacked by the infamous Heavyweight Pirates. Their captain, Heavy Leila, had a 100,000,000 berrie bounty. Fergus was determined to see this crew captured. It turned out that the boat was escaping, but there were still pirates at the liner, probably intent on killing the passengers.

"Captain, we have to save those civilians!" Eric shouted.

"I'd like to, but the ship is getting away. Leila is likely in there, and damned if I let her escape!" Fergus yelled.

"But, the passengers-"

"It's a real shame, but stopping Leila comes first!"

"Then I'll go myself!" Eric shouted as he went to one of the emergency boats.

"Wait, stop!" Fergus yelled, but too late.

Eric had jumped onto the boat, cut the ropes as he jumped on, and the boat dropped into the water. Eric flinched when he landed, but regained his composure and used his powers to propel the boat towards the cruise ship. When he reached the ship, he then used his powers to jump to the deck. He needed a second to gain his bearing, and then headed to where the pirates were holding the passengers. He tried to avoid being spotted, but one of the pirates spotted him, and charged at him. He wound up his fist as more of them charged at him. Then, he launched his attack.

"Jet Stream Punch!"

As he shouted this, a burst of wind shot out, sending the charging pirates, as well as the ones who were in its path, flying clear out of the ship. Others tried to get him from the side, but he used Gale Force Kick to send them flying away. One of the pirates tried to sneak up on him, but he tripped the pirate, and then uppercut him. However, he charged the uppercut, turning it into his Tornado Uppercut, sending the pirate clear into the sky. Eric was about ready to wrap everything up, but then he was approached by a slender woman with long red hair, green eyes, and a small parasol.

"Ha, for a child, you're doing really well against my crew," the woman said.

"Wha-your crew? So you're Leila? Why would you call your crew the heavyweight pirates?"

"You'll find out," Leila said with a smirk.

"Y-you're under arrest. Wind Burst!" Eric shouted as a burst of high pressure wind shot out.

However, Leila just gracefully stood there, as if it was nothing more than a pleasant breeze. This surprised Eric, but he tried again, and again to no avail. He noticed that there was a small crack where she stood, but he couldn't figure out why. Leila then started to walk towards him, causing small cracks to form everywhere she stepped, and a moment of panic went through his head. He tried to blast her away, but she just kept walking up to him. He then realized something.

"It's a devil fruit, isn't it?"

"Took you long enough. I ate the Kilo Kilo Fruit. I have the power to make myself as light or as heavy as I want, making it child's play-"

"To be resistant to my powers," Eric realized.

"Bingo. I confess, I didn't think anyone would see through our ruse. We were supposed to have some scapegoats get caught while the rest of us keep the treasure and kill everyone on the ship."

"Does human life mean nothing to you?" Eric yelled as he slapped her with wind, though he quickly regretted that move. "Ah!" He shouted as he shook his hand front of him, pain shooting through the appendage.

"Is that all you've got?" Leila laughed as she grabbed Eric.

She then suddenly threw him across the deck. He was so surprised that he couldn't react in time to stop the crushing blow to the head he felt. It left him stunned. But he was able to look above him, and he could see Leila floating in the sky, twirling her parasol to allow her to float. Panic washed over Eric as he remembered what else she could do, but he was incapable of moving. That was when Leila increased her weight.

"10,000 kilogram slam!" Leila shouted as she charged at Eric from above.

At the exact moment of impact, Leila decreased her weight, lifting herself up before she could hit the water. However, Eric landed right in the ocean, losing all ability to move. Leila had angled her attack so that she only took a small chunk of the deck, which meant that the Heavyweight pirates were free to go. They left Eric to drown.

"This is it, isn't it?" Eric thought to himself. "I thought I could save them. I thought I could save those passengers, but I couldn't do anything. It's just as well that I'm going to die."

What Eric didn't notice was the figure of a woman swimming towards him.


	2. A New Ally

**A New Ally**

Eric opened his eyes, then suddenly shot up when he realized that he was alive. He looked around to see that he was in a small tropical island in the middle of nowhere. He then saw his savior: she had short black hair, light-blue skin, a slender body, and she had features that resembled a shark. She wore a red tank top with a star and the word crimin on it, as well as dark-blue knee length shorts. He assumed that she was a fishwoman. But he had no idea where he was.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, so you're back among the living, huh?"

"That's not funny."

"Sorry, you're right. My name is Jeanne. What's yours?"

"I'm Eric. Nice to meet you. Thanks for saving my life, but how were you there at that moment?"

"I was just taking a swim through the west blue when I suddenly saw you sinking. I assume that's because you ate a devil fruit?"

"Yeah, I ate the Breeze-Breeze fruit. I can manipulate wind."

"Wow, that's so cool!" Jeanne said with sincere amazement.

"By the way, why did you bring me here?"

"It was the only land mass around here, and I couldn't carry you far enough to take you anywhere else."

"Aren't fishpeople supposed to be super strong?"

"I needed to get the water out of your lungs, and I knew it needed to be sooner rather than later with humans."

"Fair enough. So, can you help me find my marine troop?"

"I"m not a fan of the marines, but I'll help you out since there's no ships around."

"Thanks. But we'll need to make some sort of raft if I'm not going to sink."

"Can't you fly?"

"Not very far without tiring out. And besides, I don't like using my powers to fly if I don't have to."

"Why not?"

"I get motion sickness easily, even before I ate the fruit," Eric said as if it was nothing.

It took Jeanne a few seconds to let that phrase sink in.

"THEN WHY DID YOU EAT **THAT** FRUIT? she yelled.

"I didn't know what it did until the deed was done."

"Wow."

"Well, we better get started on that raft," Eric commented as he headed towards the forest.

"I just hope he can pull his weight," Jeanne commented as she followed him.

The pair headed towards the forest, gathering the necessary materials for a raft. Eric's military training helped him to handle a situation like this, so he was able to find suitable materials, as well as food suitable to be eaten. They couldn't find any means to create a sail, so Jeanne offered to push the ship. She told him that it would be nothing to push the raft and him, so Eric decided that this could work. The two finished making the raft, and Jeanne pushed the raft to the ocean. The raft held, and Jeanne kept pushing, keeping a steady pace to avoid tipping the raft by accident.

"Sorry about this. Without a sail, I can't propel this raft. I mean, I probably could blow wind into the water, but it might tip the raft or even break it."

"Don't worry about it. I promise, I'm fine," Jeanne said.

"Ok," Eric said. "Hey, I see another island. This one looks inhabited. Head north-east."

"Got it," Jeanne said as she carefully turned the raft and headed in the direction that Eric pointed.

The port that they reached was fairly busy with other ships, but they managed to find a place to dock. The town was bustling with people going between the different stores in the market. The people were all so kind and courteous with each other, and the town itself seemed very prosperous. No one was filthy rich, but there also wasn't anyone who was left on the streets. Eric and Jeanne had never seen a city like this before. That was when he suddenly stopped walking.

"What is it?" Jeanne asked.

"Thanks for your help, but I can handle it from here."

"Hey, don't say that."

"But I'm out of the island."

"I said I'd take you to your troop, and I meant it. Please don't try to shoo me away again."

"Oh, sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Jeanne said. "So, we better go find us a ship, huh?"

"I think we'll only be able to get a small one, but it should be enough to find my troop," Eric said.

Eric had 200,000 berries saved up, and Jeanne handed him her 300,000 to pool the money. They were able to buy a small ship, as well as provisions for the journey to find Eric's troop. They were about to set sail, but then they heard people screaming. They looked to see that there were pirates sailing towards the city. They were flying the flag of the Shroud Pirates. Their leader, Hannigan, was notorious for using his Shroud-Shroud powers, and then gutting his victims while they were disoriented. The pirates stormed into the city, but Eric and Jeanne were already there to meet them. Lots of the pirates tried to swarm Jeanne, thinking that their numbers were enough to overwhelm her. They were quickly proven wrong when she just punched them away effortlessly. The rest tried to swarm Eric, but he created a tornado, slicing the pirates around him. That was when Hannigan showed his face. Immediately after, there was a fog surrounding Eric and Jeanne. However, Eric just created a huge gust of wind that dissipiated the fog. Hannigan immediately surrendered. Not stupid enough to trust him, Eric punched him out first. After he and Jeanne rounded up the pirates, the villagers offered to pay them handsomely for their help.

"We'll settle for a few provisions," Eric insisted.

"Very well," the mayor said.

The villagers saw the two off as they headed off, continuing the search. They had been sailing for a day without any sign of anything. Restless, Eric decided to start flying, since it was better than just sitting on his butt. However, without thinking, he launched himself high with high pressure wind, which not only left him feeling woozy, but it also capsized the ship. Jeanne was evidently angry with him, but she managed to save the provisions. As a precaution, but mostly from fury, she tied Eric to the mast to keep him from trying that again.

"What the hell were you thinking, you dumbass?" Jeanne yelled.

"Cut me some slack!" Eric yelled.

"Why should I? You should be used to your powers by now! Wait. How long have you had your powers for?"

"Two months."

"No wonder he can barely control it," Jeanne said as she turned away.

"I can still hear you, you jerk! Now untie me!" Eric shouted.

However, Jeanne also found herself incapable of staying on the boat for so long, so she untied Eric and decided to swim ahead. She then spotted an island, so she signaled Eric. He used his powers to propel the ship towards it. The two wound up in a small, but inhabited, island. They looked around, and found a quaint house. There were children playing, but they fled to the house when they saw the two. However, when the father saw Eric's military uniform, the father assured them that there was nothing to fear.

"It's nice to meet you," the mother, Clara, said.

"Likewise," Eric said. "If you don't mind me asking, why were your children afraid? I mean, I understand the whole pirate thing, but they just fled the instant they saw someone on a boat."

"It's because the marines don't bother patrolling around here," the father, Warren, said.

"Huh?"

"It's not like we're the only family on this island, but pirates rarely showed up here, so the marines stopped partolling. So this one pirate crew has taken advantage of it and plundered us almost daily."

"That's horrible," Eric said.

"There's not much we can do about it. The marines really do have more important-"

"The marines are supposed to protect everyone," Eric interrupted. "I'll see if I can convince my captain to talk to the higher ups."

"You'd really do that?" Warren asked.

"Yes, I would. But I can't understand why they wouldn't patrol here?"

"Because this place is expendable," Jeanne coldly said.

"Hey!" Eric yelled.

"I meant in the eyes of the marines," Jeanne finished. "All the marines care about is having control, and they focus all the resources they can manage on making that happen. Anyone who actually hunts pirates is just meant to hide that fact. And since pirates rarely bother coming here, they can't be bothered to protect it."

"That's not true," Eric defended. "I mean, yeah, the marines tend to just leave when they find the pirates, but they aren't like that."

"Whatever you say," Jeanne said sarcastically.

"Thank you so much," Clara said. "We really appreciate thi-oh no!"

Eric and Jeanne looked to see not just one, but three whole ships headed towards the island. The decks of the ships seemed to be fully loaded, as well. All the families had seen the coming ships, and started to run to their homes. Jeanne and Eric just stared at the three ships, getting ready to take them on.

"I'll take left, you take right. We'll meet on the middle ship," Eric said with a smirk.

"Last one to the middle is a slowpoke," Jeanne shouted as she and Eric headed to the ships.

Eric used his powers to reach the ship, but overdid it and had to throw up. The pirates were surprised to see him fly to them, and admittedly moreso jarred to see him throw up. When he stopped feeling dizzy, he created a tornado on the deck, causing all of the unprepared pirates to get sent flying into the sea. Jeanne reached the other ship, and jumped right onto it from the ocean. The pirates weren't expecting to see a fishwoman, but they made the mistake of assuming that they could just swarm her. She quickly punched and kicked through all of them, and she headed for the middle ship, along with Eric. The captain saw them, and then brandished his twin swords. The crewmates that were left went after Jeanne while the captain took on Eric. He slashed at him, but Eric dodged his attacks.

"Yeah, going after an unguarded island isn't exactly the most honourable thing to do!" Eric shouted as he dodged more attacks.

"Like I give a damn, I'm getting everything I need off of these schmucks. Who wouldn't use people like this if they could?"

"Me!" Eric yelled as he planted a wind powered fist into the captain's cheek, sending him flying clear from the ship.

The other pirates looked to see their captain defeated.

"Leave. And if I catch any of you here again, I won't go easy."

The pirates quickly gathered the crewmates that were bested, found their captain, and sailed away. The people of the island were very grateful to the duo for what they did. They wanted to show their gratitude by offering to throw the two a feast that everyone could enjoy. The two stayed for a while but remembering why Eric wound up here in the first place, he and Jeanne headed off. The citizens saw them off, waving goodbye to the two.

After another days travel, a storm started. Eric had to use his powers to keep the small ship from tipping over as Jeanne made sure that they stayed on course. However, because the storm clouded their vision, they accidentally wound up on the beach of an island and were sent flying onto the beach as a result. They decided to take shelter in the forest while they had the chance, but not before making sure that the ship was secure. After a half hour of waiting, the storm finally ceased. They realized that it had become nightfall, so they decided it would behoove them to just sleep here, since the ship was barely big enough to allow them to sleep, and even then it was almost uncomfortable.

When they woke up, they could hear a cry for help. Eric immediately ran off, and saw a man about to be attacked by what looked like savage people. Eric blew the savages away, and told the man to follow him. Jeanne had already started the ship, and Eric helped the man fly to get to it. The man was evidently grateful to the two for helping him.

"Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it," Jeanne said.

"So, where do you live?" Eric asked.

"I live on an island in that direction," the man said as he pointed north.

"It's a little out of our way, but we'll take you," Eric said.

"Really?" the man asked.

"Sure."

"Thank you."

The group headed onto the island when they arrived, and then were immediately hit in the head. They were only able to remain concious long enough to tell that they had been betrayed by the man. Suddenly, several other people gathered around the two. That was when Eric could make out Sea Prism cuffs, and then cursed his luck.


	3. Horrific Exposure

**Horrific Exposure**

Eric awoke with a massive headache. He looked around to catch his bearings. He was in a small room in a wooden cabin. There was nothing in the room save a window and the door. He then realized that he was chained up and could barely move. He also remembered that the cuffs were sea prism cuffs, which made him swear under his breath. He thought he was being held captive by pirates while they waited to decide what to do with a marine. He was able to hear the conversation of the people in the room beyond.

"That marine probably won't fetch a high price, but the fishwoman, she should fetch a pretty penny at least."

"I know. Who would have thought that lout would have actually found a fishwoman for us. I guess our luck is changing."

"Ha. You can say that again. We'll be able to sell those two, along with the other slaves we found."

Terror and hatred coursed through Eric when he heard that word, slave.

"We better go get that marine now," one of them said just before they entered.

"You better not make a fuss," the other man said as he grabbed Eric.

Eric knew it would be a bad idea to struggle right now, but that didn't stop him from otherwise making it clear how he felt about these people. They clearly didn't care, as they would keep pulling on the chains to force him to keep moving. Eric noticed that there were other people who had been given the same treatment, but he could tell that they had given up all hope of escape. But Eric refused to just plain follow their orders. The instant they looked away, Eric reached for one of the guards pockets, praying that he would find the keys to his cuffs. He found some keys, but they weren't the keys to his cuffs, and the thug then punched him in the face.

"You little brat! You won't ruin this chance for us!"

"Ch-chance?"

"We're gonna show you and the fishwoman to some nobles in the Sabaody Archipelago. We're gonna get rich off of this."

"Wh-what?"

"Ha! This kid doesn't know anything. I admit, we're new to it, but there's a whole black market for slavery, and we're gonna make money by selling you lot."

"You bastards!" Eric yelled as he spat at the thugs, resulting in them both kicking him.

"You're lucky that we need you alive, you brat."

Eric looked around, but couldn't find Jeanne anywhere. He was starting to worry about her. Had they already taken her away? If that was the case, he knew the only way he could find her would be to wait for now. He begrudgingly got up and started walking in line. He immensely hated this feeling of helplessness, but he knew he had no choice. After a half hours travel, one of the other slaves fell to his knees from exhaustion. One of the thugs then whipped him, but he still couldn't get up. The thug tried to whip him again, but Eric shielded the man, gritting his teeth from the pain.

"What are you doing?"

"He's clearly in pain, you bastards," Eric said through gritted teeth. "Show some compassion for other human beings!"

"Humans? You lost that when you became slaves. Now accept it!" one of the thugs shouted as he punched Eric hard, knocking him to the ground.

The two thugs then proceeded to beat him. They made it clear that they wanted to see him cry, but despite the pain he felt, Eric didn't shed a single tear. The other slaves were horrified to see this, but there was nothing that they could do. After a minute, the thugs got tired, and got the slaves back to walking. Eric had been bruised by his injuries, and he got a black eye on his left eye. But he just walked as if nothing happened. After another half hour of travel, they reached their destination: a tall, windowless building. The evident leader, a tall man with short red hair, green eyes and a green suit, with a giant axe on his back, looked smug as he saw the slaves.

"We've brought the rest of the slaves, Boss Rand."

"This batch should at least net us a healthy profit. Good work boys."

"How can you live with yourselves knowing that you're ruining the lives of others?" Eric yelled.

"Very comfortably with the money we make off of it," Rand conceitedly said.

"Where's Jeanne?" Eric yelled.

"If you mean the fishwoman, we already sent her to the ship. She's no mermaid, but she's the best one of the bunch."

"I won't let you ruin these people's lives!"

"And just what are you gonna do about it?"

Eric didn't say anything.

"That's what I thought. Can't wait to shut him up with the collars."

"Collars?" Eric wondered.

"Those collars explode if you try to take them off, making sure that you either do as they say, or die."

Terror filled Eric when he heard that.

"No. Don't take me there!" Eric yelled as one of the thugs tried to shove him along.

"Don't worry, it's not like it hurts... as long as you do as they say," another thug said.

"No! I won't!" Eric yelled as he feverishly struggled, barely holding his tears back.

"Don't bother," the thug shoving him said. "Just accept it."

"NO!" Eric yelled as he suddenly headbutted the thug shoving him, causing him to fall over.

"Stop him!" Rand shouted.

Eric swept the feet of the thug in front of him, and searched for the keys to his locks. However, he had to avoid another thug's kick, and shoved into that thug. He tried to find keys, but another thug grabbed him. He shifted his weight towards the thug as he lifted him, causing him to lose his balance and let go of Eric. He had managed to hold onto the key ring. He found the correct key, and undid his locks. At that exact moment, he shot up into the sky. Realizing that he could be in trouble, Rand ran to the boat, hoping to make sure that they could at least still sell Jeanne. Eric shot at him with his Air Bullet technique, but Rand used his axe to block the attack. He was sent skidding a fair distance, but managed to keep his composure. However, Eric felt woozy from the speed, and Rand took the chance to head to the ship. He managed to reach the large ship, and gave the order for them to set sail. Jeanne could tell that the ship was moving. She had been completely bound at her ankles and wrists, and had no way of moving.

"And that's all there is," Jeanne whispered, at the brink of crying. "Goodbye, Eric."

"Haha! We made it!" Rand shouted. "Now we just need to get to Sabaody and we'll be rolling in it!"

"Um, Captain," one of his subordinates said.

"What is it?"

"Something's heading towards the ship."

"What? Let me see!" Rand shouted as he grabbed the telescope.

He could make off a small bird in the distance. But when he looked again, he realized that it wasn't a bird. He dropped the telescope in horror when he realized that it was Eric, flying towards them at breakneck speeds. Rand ducked at the last second, causing the guy behind him to be sent flying clear from the boat. Immediately after, Eric blasted Rand with wind, causing him to fall to the inner part of the ship. Eric dove after him, but Rand rolled away. He then brandished his axe and tried to cut Eric, but he blocked it by creating a wind shield. Eric tried to kick him, but Rand dodged and managed to punch Eric in the face. He tried to slice him, but Eric jumped out of the way, and used Jet Stream Punch. Rand managed to avoid it, but the wind shattered part of the ship. Jeanne could hear the commotion from below, and realized that Eric had come to save her.

"I can't believe it!" she rejoiced.

"Why would you go to such troubles just for a stupid fish, anyway?" Rand shouted.

Eric suddenly stopped.

"What did you just say?"

"What are you, deaf? Why bother helping simple fish?"

"She's not just a fish! She's a living creature with feelings! And everyone has a right to live their lives!"

"So do I. Does that mean you'll stop attacking me?" Rand conceitedly said.

"Oh, you've got it wrong. I'm not afraid to punch out pirates who plunder islands and heartless bastards like you who care nothing for others."

As he said this, he tried to punch Rand, but Rand blocked it with the side of his axe.

"Big words from a runt. I don't care if you are a devil fruit eater, you're nothing more than a kid. I'll wipe you out!"

Rand tried to slash Eric, but he blocked it with his wind shield, and pushed the axe out of his hands. Eric then punched Rand in the face with a wind infused fist, and then tripped him. He then uppercut him. However, Rand could feel energy swirling on his back. He then realized that Eric was going to send him flying.

"No, please, have mercy!" Rand pleaded.

"Now you know how those slaves feel. If I wanted to, I could send you flying far enough that you won't be able to swim back up in time when you hit the water... assuming you survive the fall."

"Please, I'm begging you, don't do this!" Rand pleaded.

"Of course you'll live, since killing you makes me as bad as you. But I promise, you'll feel this in the morning," Eric said, before sending Rand flying with the Tornado Uppercut.

After Rand hit the water, Eric searched for Jeanne. He found her and quickly undid her shackles.

"Thank you so much!" Jeanne shouted as she hugged Eric, forgetting her strength and leaving him winded when she let go.

"Glad to help," Eric said when he got his breath back.

"You have no idea how helpless I felt. I hated that feeling."

"I know I would too."

"What should we do now?" Jeanne asked.

"I highly doubt any of the other schmucks here will fight us if I took out their leader. We should use this ship... or what's left of it, to get the former slaves somewhere safe and to get these scumbags where they belong."

"I saw them put our ship in this one, as they thought they could use it for scouting."

"Cool. Let's get to it," Eric said as he prepared to turn the ship around.

The ship was barely in good enough condition to get to the shore of the slave hideout. Eric and Jeanne were able to send the former slaves to a safe, inhabited island after half a day's travel, and they sent the slave traders to the nearby marine base afterwards. Eric tried to find out where his marine troop was, but they told him that they were several days away from where they were. Jeanne remained on the ship, partly to try asking some sharks if they knew where the troop was, but also to avoid being seen by the marines. Eric returned soon after, and the two got back on their small ship, as the slave ship was likely to fall apart after the next storm.

After a day's travel, they came upon an island. This island had many people bustling through, so Eric and Jeanne had trouble navigating through the plaza. They had bought some supplies for their trip, but then they realized that they were being followed. They acted as if nothing was happening, but kept their guards up just in case. After they got to the docks, they turned to see several marines, though none from Eric's troop, surrounding them. Eric was genuinely confused as to why this was the case.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"That woman with you is Jeanne, a pirate and the granddaughter of the traitorous Jimbei, a former Warlord who fought against the World Government 52 years ago. Her bounty is 75,000,000 berries. Hand her over or you risk losing your rank!" the leader of the troop shouted.

"Oh, please," Jeanne said as she prepared to fight her way through. "We're not just going to sit back and do as y-"

"Wind Burst."

As Eric said this, he created a burst of wind behind Jeanne, causing her to be at the brink of unconsciousness from the sudden impact.

"Eric, I thought that you were better than them. Guess I was wrong," she said, then lost consciousness.

"Excellent work. If I'm not mistaken, you're Sergeant-Major Norne Eric of Marine Troop 34, are you not?" the captain asked.

"Yes, sir," Eric said as he saluted.

"Your troop has been looking for you. We can meet them back at our base."

"Thank you very much, sir," Eric said.


	4. False Accusations

**False Accusations**

The Marine ship had been sailing for half a day. The captain, Verne, had ordered that no one approach Jeanne, who was detained in the ship's holding cells. For the entire trip, Jeanne just sat there, defeated. Eric couldn't help feeling guilty about what he did, but he also couldn't believe that he had been working alongside a pirate for so long. But he couldn't help remembering the time that they had spent together, seeing how nice she was. But the idea of a pirate being nice only left him confused. He decided to try to talk to her. He managed to sneak into the holding facilities, and approached Jeanne's cell. She only gave him a cold, anger filled stare.

"What the hell do you want?" she growled.

"I want to make something clear. I don't give a damn about whether you're related to some big shot pirate from way back when. But I never thought that you were a pirate yourself, a-"

Jeanne suddenly started laughing conceitedly.

"What was that for?"

"Just because you hear people claim that I'm a pirate, you assume that that's the case, don't you?"

"Wha-"

"I'm not going to talk to you anymore until you actually hear the charges against me."

"I guess that's fair enough," Eric said, then snuck out of the facility.

He then approached Captain Verne.

"Um, excuse me, sir?"

"What is it, lad?"

"I have a question concerning the captive, Jeanne?"

"And that would be?"

"What did she do to warrant her bounty?"

"As you were told, she is the granddaughter, and as such she carries the blood, of the traitorous Jimbei who betrayed the World Government during the War of the Best."

"But what did she do?" Eric innocently asked.

"Did you not hear me? That woman is that fiend's granddaughter. Even if she hasn't done anything big yet, we have to prevent that chance."

Eric didn't show it otherwise, but he was speechless after hearing that. He couldn't believe that people from the Marines were after her for that reason alone. He realized that he had made a terrible mistake. Since this was the only time this occured that he was aware of, he didn't lose all faith in the marines, but he still decided to talk to Jeanne. He snuck back into the holding facilities and approached Jeanne, who blankly looked up at him this time.

"Well?"

Eric then used his power to cut the chains, releasing Jeanne and genuinely surprising her.

"What the?"

"This isn't right. Are they really only after you because you're the granddaughter of a pirate?"

"Yeah. However, I'm proud of my grandfather. He would tell me stories about his time as a pirate. I didn't want to follow his legacy, but the stories fascinated me. I wanted to see the world outside of Fish-Man Island. However, I didn't truly understand how things worked, and the instant I let slip who my grandfather was, they slapped this bounty on my head and have been hunting me for the past 5 months."

"That long? How determined are they to capture you?"

"Oh, they don't want to capture me. They want me dead."

Eric gasped.

"I need to get out of here. But you could lose your position if I escape. I'm still mad at you, and I hate the Marines, but if you still want to stay, I don't want you to get fired, or worse."

"I have an idea. It'll allow you to get out and still allow me to keep my position."

"What's that?"

The soldiers were just doing their patrols and switching shifts, when they suddenly heard the sound of a struggle. They could tell that someone was being beat up in the holding facilities. Some of them thought that even though she was a pirate, not even she deserved that treatment. Suddenly, Jeanne bust down the door, knocking out the soldiers that had been listening. Some other soldiers came by, threatening to shoot her, but she then used Shark Arrows to harm, but not kill, the soldiers. That was the chance she needed to break through the window and dive into the ocean, allowing her to escape. The Marines looked at the holding cell, and saw Eric, almost completely bruised, but far from dead.

"What happened?" one Marine asked.

"I was checking up on the prisoner when she suddenly broke her locks and escaped from her cell. I tried to stop her, but you can see how much good that did."

"Don't worry, you tried to stop her. She's a dangerous criminal. It's a miracle that you're alive."

"Thanks," Eric said as he staggered to his feet.

"We better tell Captain Verne what happened and receive our next orders," another Marine said as he and the others ran to find Captain Verne.

Eric smiled as he looked towards the shattered window.

"What?" Verne shouted.

"The Sergeant Major put up a valiant fight, but she was too strong for him. Should we pursue?"

"No. We lost any chance of pursuit the instant she got into the water. We stay on track for the rendezvous point with Troop 34."

"Yes, sir," the Marines shouted.

The doctors of the ship healed Eric's wounds, but they noticed that absolutely nothing was broken. They didn't pay it too much heed, however, and just told Eric to take it easy for a while. He couldn't help thinking about Jeanne's story. He had to admit, he just put his faith in a pirate, and the thought made him question his sanity. But he had spent enough time with Jeanne to know that she wouldn't lie about this... or at the very least he wanted to believe that. But the deed was done, so he decided to stop worrying about it.

After several hours travel, the ship had finally come upon the Marine base. After another hours wait, Troop 34 had arrived at the base. Eric was welcomed back by the friends that he had made among the troop, and was also welcomed back by Fergus. Of course, Fergus had to reprimand him for disobeying orders, but he was evidently relieved to see him alive. Eric told him of his travels, but completely cut Jeanne from the story, instead saying that he was lucky enough to wash up on the shore of the island, and editing other parts of his story as necessary.

"Seems like you had quite the journey. I'm sorry you're gonna be spending your first day back reprimanded, but it's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back, sir," Eric said.

"Glad to hear it. That's all for now."

Eric saluted, then went to his room. The day after, Eric was back to working hard. Everything was back to normal for Troop 34. They would protect islands and capture pirates. But Eric couldn't help but notice that that was almost literally all they did. Other than make certain that civilians weren't around when they started fighting, they did nothing to actually directly help the people, especially considering collateral damage. Eric couldn't help thinking that there was more that he could do to help others. But he knew that the marines was the closest he could get to helping others, so he kept up his work.

After a week back with the Marines, Eric heard that they were to pursue a wanted pirate named Carellia, with a bounty of 80,000,000. The only thing known about her was that her parents were the notorious pirates Vylan and Retea, both known to be ruthless killers, raking in 300,000,000 bounties each before they were captured. Eric almost instinctively prepared himself for a tough fight, but then he remembered the incident with Jeanne. He considered that maybe she was actually a nice person that was wrongfully branded a pirate. He tried to share this opinion with the others, but they just plain chalked it up to him being so nice to the point of naiveté. But Eric decided to try to actually talk to Carellia and get her side of the story this time.

The troop arrived at Undora island, the last place that Carellia was seen. Some of the marines stayed behind, since Carellia was known to sneak onto navy ships and steal them to escape. Eric and Fergus, along with the rest of the marines, went ahead to locate Carellia. The citizens had all evacuated, all scared of the daughter of Vylan and Retea. Eric couldn't help feeling anxious to know exactly who had everyone so afraid. The marines stayed together to prevent the risk of being picked off one by one. After a while, the marines were about to consider that she had given them the slip. Suddenly, they saw one of the marines that was to be guarding the ship running towards them.

"What's wrong?" Fergus asked.

"I have no idea how, but Carellia must have snuck onto the ship, because it's sailing away," the marine shouted.

"Oh no!" another marine shouted.

"How will we get it back?"

"I'm on it!" Eric shouted as he flew off towards the ship.

Eric shot as fast as he could towards the ship, knowing he was the only one who could stop Carellia. He couldn't help feeling relieved that he had the perfect chance to talk with Carellia. He made it to the ship, and managed to make a soft landing. However, he needed to take a second to catch his bearings. After that, he headed to the wheel. However, no one was there. Before he could guess why, he suddenly started spinning. However, he realized that it was only his eyes and ears that were spinning.

"Aaahhh! What the hell is going on?" Eric shouted as his eyes continued to spin.

He then grabbed his head at the right moment, which managed to return his face to normal. He then tried to figure out where Carellia was. However, he couldn't see her anywhere. He was about to grab the wheel and turn the ship around, but he then got punched in the head hard. He turned, but again there was nothing. He realized that he couldn't let his guard down for even a second. He stood completely still, waiting for Carellia, or whatever was causing this, to show up. As strange as it was, he then heard a door open behind him. As surprised as he was, he was able to grab the fist behind him and flip it above him. Sure enough, the assailant fell flat on her back in front of him. When he got the chance to look at the assailant, he realized that it was a girl that was younger than him.

"What the?"

"Ow, that hurt, you bastard," the girl complained.

"A-are you Carellia?"

"And if I am?"

"My name is Eric. I'm from-"

"The Navy. The uniform is a dead give away, moron."

"I just wanted to talk to you."

"Right. And then suddenly I'm slapped with Sea Prism Cuffs. I wasn't born yesterday."

"No, seriously. I only want to talk."

"You wouldn't care. I'm Vylan and Retea's daughter, after all."

"Of course I would."

"Right, I'm so sure," Carellia said sarcastically.

"Seriously, I'll listen."

"Stop lying and leave me alone!" Carellia shouted as she slapped Eric, causing his eyes to spin around again.

"Aaaahhhh! I am rapidly hating this!" Eric shouted as he started to feel queasy.

After he got the time to regain his composure, he realized that Carellia was gone. He tried to find her on the deck, but to no avail. He then searched belowdecks, and he managed to spot her. Before she could flee, Eric managed to grab her wrist.

"Let me go!"

"Please, listen."

"No! You should be afraid of me. Don't you know who I am?" Carellia desperately shouted.

"No, I don't!" Eric shouted, causing Carellia to flinch. "I know who your parents are, but that doesn't mean that I know who you are."

"Wha-"

"I know that you've been on the run because the Navy believes that you'll live up to your parents legacy. But I know that you're not like them. You could have easily killed me in my moment of confusion if you wanted to, but you didn't. That alone proves my point."

"Just leave me alone!" Carellia shouted, desperately trying to break free.

"Why do you keep trying to escape from me?"

"Because everyone hates me," Carellia said.

"I can tell that you don't believe that."

"I-It's true," Carellia stuttered.

"What's the real reason?"

Carellia didn't say anything for a moment.

"It's because everyone I try to befriend gets captured by the Marines," Carellia blubbered. "Everytime someone tries to help me, the Marines find out and capture them. Some have even been put to the sword because of me." Carellia was crying by this point.

"It's not your fault that the Marines are going out of line," Eric said.

"But I should just stay away from everyone. I don't deserve any friends if this always happens."

"I'll be your friend," Eric simply said.

Carellia looked up at him, surprised.

"But, what would the Marines think?"

"They don't have to know. I'll just say that you managed to escape on one of the lifeboats, but I managed to reclaim the ship. They'll be none the wiser, and you'll be able to escape."

"Y-you'd really do that for me?" Carellia asked.

"That's what friends do. And because they'll believe that I tried to stop you, I won't get in trouble for it."

Carellia was evidently happy to hear that.

"Thank you so much!" she shouted as she hugged Eric.

"Don't mention it. And by the way, if you run into a light-blue skinned fishwoman with short black hair, she's another friend of mine. I believe she's a whaleshark fishwoman."

"Ok," Carellia said as she headed for the life raft.

Eric then turned the ship back towards Undora island, already with a story for the marines. No one questioned his story because of Carellia's bounty, so everyone just resumed their patrol. Eric couldn't help feeling a little guilty for allowing Jeanne and Carellia to escape and lying to his fellow Marines, but it quickly subsided when he remembered who they actually turned out to be. But he figured that the marines were wrong about some people, but otherwise were everything he thought they were. He had no idea these thoughts would be completely destroyed.


	5. Faith Shattered

**Faith Shattered**

Eric had been performing his Navy work dutifully for the past week. But the events with Jeanne and Carellia kept swirling through his head. He didn't think that Marines could be so quick to assume. However, he also had been able to help a lot of people while working with the Marines, so he figured things couldn't be all that bad. He did have times where he had to bite his lip about not being able to stay behind and help with repairs, but he otherwise enjoyed his work. He did manage to bring some genuinely awful pirates to justice, so he was able to work with his head held high.

One day, Eric heard that they were going to Ingor Island to guard an important person during the annual harvest festival. Eric was wondering who this person was, but no one told him. His curiosity was so big that he would keep prying, trying to find out, but no one would spill. He then asked Fergus to see if he would answer.

"Sir, who is this important person who we have to guard during the harvest festival?"

"It isn't necessary to talk about this. I guarantee you'll know them when you see them."

"I guess that's true. But could you tell me anyway?"

"Get back to work, Eric. Please."

"Understood," Eric said as he saluted, then left.

"It's actually better if you don't find out," Fergus thought. "I know you two wouldn't get along at all."

Meanwhile, an overly decorated ship can be seen sailing in the direction of Ingor Island.

"Where is my wine?" a woman with short red hair rudely yelled.

"Here it is, Melody-urk!"

The woman in question had grabbed the man's neck with her bare hand.

"Excuse me? I believe you have adressed me incorrectly," the woman nonchalantly said as her hand started to glow red-violet.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry. Please, I'm begging you, don't!" the man yelled.

Suddenly, the man started to shrivel as his hair turned gray. Suddenly, he fell over, lifeless.

"Oh, it's always such a bother, but it's also worth it in the end," the woman conceitedly said as another man handed her a drink.

Eric's troop arrived at Ingor Island, and headed for the village. The harvest festival of Ingor Village was famous for containing the freshest and most delicious food available. Everyone was happily enjoying themselves, but they all knew about the guest that was coming, and had prepared everything accordingly. Eric noticed that everything that was prepared for the guest was grandiose, and admittedly a little gaudy. He couldn't help wondering who this guest was that he or she needed to be given the royal treatment. But then he took the time to see the people. He noticed that they were all a little nervous. He couldn't place why, though. Suddenly, he saw a ship in the distance. It looked gigantic to the point of being excessive. He couldn't tell who was on it, save that they were affiliated with the World Government. He figured that this was the only reason that the people were nervous.

The ship arrived, and everyone came by to welcome the guest. Eric still had no idea who the guest was, but he figured that everyone must love this person to go to such great lengths for them. He was excited to see who this mystery person was. Fergus could tell that Eric was oblivious to who the guest was, and he knew he should try to keep it that way. He had Eric go off to find him some fruits from a far off stand. Eric initially protested, insisting that he wanted to see the guest, but Fergus insisted that he stop questioning his superior, so Eric reluctantly walked off. That was when the boat reached the port.

The guest in question had brown eyes and short red hair, and was wearing a white robe. The woman had a bubble to shield her air, and she had an entourage of people following her. She was also riding on a man who had a collar on, and who was forced to walk on all fours. Everyone went to their knees the instant she came into view. The woman approached one of the many stands, and inspected the fruits available.

"Um, i-is there anything that I can do for you?" the man asked.

"Yes, actually, there is," the woman said.

"And what would that b-aagh!" the man shouted as the woman grabbed his neck.

"I wanted to know why you have such disgusting rubbish in your stand when you know that a Celestial Dragon such as myself, of a refined palette, would arrive?" she said as her hand started to glow.

"I-I-I'm sorry. I'll get better fruits, just please."

"I don't think so," the woman said.

The man then started to shrivel, and then fell down, dead. Fergus turned, and realized that Eric had at least seen the Celestial Dragon kill the man. He could see the rage in Eric's eyes. He looked like he wanted to kill the woman, and in his anger, he just might. Fergus and two other Marines wisely held him back and kept his mouth covered. Despite that, the fact that Eric was screaming at all was audible. However, the Celestial Dragon was too far away, or she just didn't care, because she didn't react.

"Ugh, that's the one thing I hate about these Leech-Leech powers. I actually have to touch these inferior beings. But, if it helps keep me young forever, it's a sacrifice I'll have to make," she conceitedly said as she walked away as if nothing happened.

Eric could see that she just did what she wanted, no matter what her actions did to others. But what enraged him the most was the fact that he could tell that the man she was riding was a slave, from his tattered clothes to his defeated demeanor. He wanted to do something, but the others were holding him back. Soon, the Celestial Dragon had gone back to her ship, and left the island. No one was able to enjoy the festival after what had happened. The Marines had let go of Eric after the ship was out of sight, just to be safe. Eric turned to the others, completely red from fury. All he could do was return to the ship.

After the festival was over, Fergus had Eric come to his office. He could tell that Eric had let out his anger, since the deck had been partly scratched everywhere. When Eric had entered, he could tell that he was far from calm. However, he could tell that at the very least, he was willing to sit down and talk. However, that didn't mean that he wasn't going to give him a piece of his mind.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT? WHY DID YOU STOP ME FROM GIVING HER A WHAT SHE DESERVED?"

"To save your life," Fergus said.

"What the hell does that mean?" Eric shouted.

"That woman is a Celestial Dragon."

"Why the hell would I give two shits?"

"Because if a Celestial Dragon is harmed, an Admiral can be called to punish the offender," Fergus explained.

"So what? No one can be allowed to do something like thi-" Eric then realized something. "Did you just say an Admiral would back up those bastards?"

"Yes." Fergus simply said, aware of what this could bring on.

"Are you telling me that the World Government- no, that the Marines actually support those homicidal bastards?" Eric yelled.

"I'm not too proud of that fact either, but yes," Fergus simply said.

"All this talk of Justice, and yet those bastards are allowed to kill whoever they want without consequence? Where's the Justice in that?" Eric screamed as a tornado started to form around him.

"Calm down!" Fergus shouted.

"Screw you!" Eric yelled. "You just sat there and watched as that woman killed someone like it was nothing! Why should I ever listen to you, or anyone from the Navy again?" Eric shouted as the tornado intensified.

"Eric, I don't want to hurt you," Fergus shouted as he got up from his seat.

"Ha, you, hurt me? I might not be a conventional logia type, but my wind will still hurt you."

"Fair warning: calm down," Fergus said as he approached Eric.

"Make me!" Eric screamed as he let the tornado loose.

However, Fergus punched throught the tornado and hit him in the face, causing Eric to lose conciousness.

"For what its worth, I was trying to prevent this," Fergus said with sincere sadness as the black coating receeded.

A day later, Carellia was sailing the West Blue, trying to find a new island to gather supplies. She had been at sea since she had left Eric, only stopping at islands for supplies. She couldn't help thinking about what he was doing right now. She was tempted to go back and find him, but it would be hard with the fact that he would be with several Marines. As she thought this, she saw a figure in the water. When the figure surfaced, she could make out a fishwoman with short black hair and light blue skin, wearing a light green tank top with a star and the word crimin written on it. Remembering what Eric told her, she approached the fishwoman.

"Excuse me?" Carellia said.

"Yes? What is it?" the fishwoman asked.

"Do you know a young Marine boy with short brown hair and blue eyes named Eric?"

"And if I do?" the fishwoman asked.

"My name is Carellia. The Marines are after me because my parents are Vylan and Retea. Eric helped me escape when he realized that I wasn't actually bad."

"Really?" the fishwoman asked.

"Yeah. He's the only friend I have who hasn't been captured and/or killed."

"That does sound like Eric, to help out a criminal despite being a Marine. He's one in a million, that guy," the fishwoman said.

"So you do know him?" Carellia asked.

"Sure do. Name's Jeanne. So, where are you headed?"

"Nowhere in particular. You?"

"Same. I was just wondering where I should go to next."

"Yeah, I want to find land soon. Hey, is that a news coo?"

"You're right," Jeanne said. "Hey, down here!" she then called to the bird.

The bird perched onto the ship, and Carellia grabbed a newspaper, paying the fee to the bird.

"I wonder what's been going on," Carellia said as she read, but then she suddenly gasped.

"What's wrong?" Jeanne asked.

"It's Eric," Carellia said.

Eric was in a Marine base holding cell. He had been imprisoned for his behaviour, and he had consistently yelled about how they support murderers. The Marines there considered him a traitor, and everyone couldn't wait for his punishment to be dealt. Some Marines started talking about something that Eric thought was interesting.

"That guy with those powers will be a real asset in our fight against pirates. What were his powers again?"

"I believe that he said he ate the Plague-Plague fruit. Apparently, he never gets sick, but just a touch, and he can inflict you with anything from the common cold to malaria, and other horrible diseases like that."

"Holy crap, pirates won't stand a chance if he helps us."

"You know it."

"They're not the ones you should be fighting!" Eric yelled.

"Oh, shut up!" one of the Marines yelled.

"I hate you Marines, just blindly doing as you're told without thinking about it!"

"Like we give a damn what you think. It's only a matter of time before you get the punishment you deserve," the other Marine said as he and his colleague left.

"How will I get of here?" Eric asked when the Marines had left.

"Maybe we can be of assisstance," a young girl's voice said.

Eric looked up to see Carellia and Jeanne, and his expression immediately brightened.

"You guys! How did you get here?" he asked.

"It's my Door-Door powers. I can open a door in thin air, ignore any and everything in between, and open another door somewhere else. And if I want, I can bring friends."

"That's awesome!" Eric said with a genuinely brightened mood.

"I'll take care of the bars," Jeanne said as she easily ripped them off. She and Carellia then freed Eric from his shackles.

"We better get out of here," Carellia said as she and Jeanne prepared to leave.

"Wait!" Eric shouted.

"What?" Jeanne said.

"I overheard the Marines talking about someone that they were gonna use like a weapon. I don't want to give these morons any more leeway for their ideological folly."

"I'll go with you," Jeanne said.

"I'm not much of a fighter, so I'll secure a path," Carellia said.

"Fair enough," Eric said as he and Jeanne headed out to find this mystery man.

The two were careful to try not to alert anyone to their presence. If they got found out, they would quickly subdue the Marine and keep going. They kept looking, but they weren't having any luck. Suddenly, they came to one room that was guarded by three Marines. Eric blasted two with high pressure wind while Jeanne shot the last with Shark Arrows. Eric opened the door to find a guy in his late teens with medium length red hair and hazel eyes, wearing a light-blue t-shirt, black jeans, and he seemed startled to see them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, keep your distance," the man said.

"What's wrong?" Jeanne asked.

"All I have to do is make skin contact and I could infect you with a disease," the man said.

"How could that happen?" Jeanne asked.

"I didn't know it at the time, but I ate the Plague-Plague fruit. At first, I just thought it was a fruit that tasted horrible. But when I was hugged by my mother, she suddenly fell ill with lukemia. It seemed like an unfortunate coincidence initially, but then when I handed my father his wrench while doing repairs, I touched his hand, and he came down with pneumonia. Again, we thought it was just bad timing, but when my little sister came down with malaria from hugging me, I realized that I was the one who caused them to be sick. Unfortunately, the rest of my village found out as well, and banished me, not that I blame them. I knew I was only ever going to be a burden to everyone. That's when I ran into the Marines. They agreed to leave me here where I wouldn't have to harm anyone ever again."

Eric and Jeanne suddenly looked angry when he said that last part.

"W-what's the matter? I swear, I didn't infect them on purpose!"

"We know," Jeanne said.

"But you have to know that the Marines want to use you as a weapon," Eric explained.

"Th-that's not true," the man shouted. "The Marines promised me that I wouldn't have to hurt anyone. Why would they lie to me?"

"To use your power to infect pirates," Eric explained.

The man gasped when he realized the logic in that.

"No, no, no! I won't do it! I refuse to harm people like this. I refuse!"

"Come with us," Eric said.

"What? No, I can't. I'll just infect you all. Why would you want me?"

"Because you obviously need people who understand that you're not a plague, but a human being who cares about others. And I want to be friends with someone like you."

The man couldn't help getting a little teary eyed after hearing that.

"Th-thank you so much. My name is Thane. I'm so glad you guys found me."

"Don't mention it, but we've gotta go," Jeanne said as she and the others prepared to leave.

The trio headed back to where Carellia's door was, but the Marines were aware of the breakout by now. Eric and Jeanne had to cover Thane, since his abilities had no long range capabilites. The three managed to make it to Carellia, and she opened her door. However, some Marines showed up, and managed to get a good look at the group. They weren't able to prevent their escape, however. The Captain in charge issued that new bounties be warranted for them.

The four friends had escaped the base, and managed to get into Carellia's boat, even with Thane's condition. However, Eric kept looking back to the Marine base. Feelings of anger and hatred kept swirling through his head, and the others could tell. The group had reached an abandoned island with a hill. Eric had changed out of his Marine uniform into an orange shirt with a yellow vest on top and green pants, as well as a light green headband. He walked to the top of the hill, along with the others. He then threw the uniform upwards, and then used his powers to slice the uniform in quarters.

"With this, I cut all ties with the Marines, and I vow to put a stop to the Celestial Dragons," Eric said. He then turned to the others. "I mean it. And I'm well aware that this is going to be dangerous. I won't force any of you to come with me."

"Are you kidding?" Jeanne said. "I've always wanted to see the world. Even if it's to start some trouble, I am so in."

"Of course I'm staying," Carellia said. "I've finally made friends that haven't died. And besides, maybe I'll make more friends along the way."

"I might not be much for fighting, but despite my condition, you're willing to have me along. Of course I'll come with you, no matter what," Thane said.

"Very well. But I want to make it clear that lots of Marines, maybe even Vice-Admirals will come after us. Are you guys prepared to fight them if you have to?"

"Of course," Jeanne said.

"I'll do what I can to help," Carellia said.

Thane hesitated.

"Thane?" Eric asked.

"I'm still not sure about using my powers... but if they're attacking us, I guess I can get past it for the sake of my friends," Thane said.

"Ok. We better set up camp for the night. We set out tomorrow."

"Got it," the others said as they did just that.

Meanwhile, at the Marine base...

"Who were the culprits?" the Captain asked.

"One of them was First Knight of the Sea Jimbei's Granddaughter, Jeanne, who's bounty has been raised to 90,000,000. Next is Carellia, daughter of Retea and Vylan, who's bounty has been raised to 85,000,000. There is also Thane, who escaped with them. He has been given a bounty of 75,000,000. The last one has a record breaking first bounty of 99,000,000 for betraying the Navy and conspiring against the Celestial Dragons. This boy's name is Norne Eric."

"Did you say Norne?" the Captain asked.

"Yes sir, the very same."

"Huh. Seems his parents did a terrible job raising him," the Captain said.

Meanwhile, a woman at Marineford could be seen reading the newspaper.

"Oh, my son. I never thought this could happen. What have I done wrong?" the woman said with sincere sorrow.

"It's not your fault, dear," her husband said. "We had our duties."

"However, you weren't supposed to produce a traitor," someone arrogantly said.

"Silence!" the woman shouted.

"That's enough!" another man shouted. "It doesn't matter who is responsible for raising him. The fact remains that he is a traitor that must be dealt with. I trust that won't be a problem, Jericho, Antasia?"

"Of course not, Fleet Admiral," they both said, then left.


End file.
